Apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers



July 16, 1957 2,799,189

' ICING FIRE EXTINGUISHERS L. M. GOQDMAN,- SR

APPARATUS FOR SERV Original Fiied Jun 25, 1955 42 39- 56 United States Patent-O APPARATUS For: SERVICING FIRE nxrmoursmms Leo Goodman, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Original application June 25, 1953, Serial No. 364,106, now Patent No. 2,758,495, dated August 14, 1956. Divided and this application November 16, 1955, Serial No. 547,104

7 Claims. (Cl. 81-332) This invention relates, as indicated, to an apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers.

The fire extinguishers to be serviced by the apparatus of this invention are the soda acid and foam types commonly employed in large buildings and factories. Proper maintenance of such extinguishers requires recharging or replacement of the chemicals contained therein at periodic intervals. For this purpose, the extinguishers are provided with a threaded closure member at the top thereof which has a hand wheel in the form of a rim connected with the closure member by spokes for effecting its removal and replacement. Removal of the closure member after a period of time is generally a diflicult'operation due to corrosion of the threads connecting the closure member with the extinguisher, and requires the application of a tool or lever to the spokes of the hand wheel in order to initiate rotation thereof. The tools or levers heretofore used for this purpose have been customarily straight bars or pipes whichare inserted through the spokes of the hand wheel and the application of a turning force thereto frequently results in damage to the hand wheel in effecting removal of the closure member. In many cases, the closure member is secured sotightly to the extinguisher that its removal in this manner is impossible.

When removing the closure member, it is necessary. that the extinguisher be held against rotation by the turning force applied to the tool or lever inserted through the spokes of the hand wheel. The customary apparatus for holding the extinguisher against rotation usually compn'ses a flexible strap of friction material which is looped about the surface of the extinguisher and has its ends connected at spaced points to a lever by which it is tightened into frictional holding engagement with the surface ofthe extinguisher. After tightening the holding strap with the lever, the operator places the lever against his thigh tohold it while a turning force is applied to the closure member. The reaction of the force applied to the closure member is thus transmitted directly to the body of the operator thereby causing considerable discomfort and a physical tiring effect.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide an apparatus which is effective to. remove the closuremember of a fire extinguisher without damage thereto regardless of how tight it may be secured to the extinguisher and in which the extinguisher is securely held against rotation without the reactive force being transmitted to the operator. To this end, the apparatus of this invention provides a platform on which the extinguisher is supported and which has a pair of relatively movable and'expansible clamps or brake shoes which are engaged with a flange at the base of the extinguisher for holding it against rotation during removal of its closure member.- To eifect removal of the closure member there is provided a .tool comprised of parts pivotally connected together for limited movement relative to each other by which sharp turning forces in the nature of rapidly ap- "Ice plied blows are applied to .the hand wheel for rotating the closure member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a platform support having means for securing an extinguisher placed thereon against rotation relative thereto and on which the operator may stand to hold the platform against movement by the reaction forces of a tightening or loosening operation applied to its closure member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a platform support for holding fire extinguishers against rotation which comprises a'pair of brake shoes for holding engagement with the extinguisher and a treadle for actuating the brake shoes into holding engagement together with a latch for securing the treadle against movement of its operated position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, there is shown a preferred embodi ment of the invention. In this showing:

Fig. l is an elevational view of a servicing apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention and showing the turning tool and supporting apparatus of this invention with respect to a fire extinguisher to be serviced thereby, a portion of the extinguisher being broken away to show the manner in which the clamping members or brake shoes of the platform operate to hold the extinguisher against rotational movement with respect thereto;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the platform shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottomplan view of the supporting platform shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line IVIV of Fig. 3 but showing the treadle lever 20 in elevation with its upwardly projecting brake shoe support in section; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line V-V of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. l, the numeral 1 designates a fire extinguisher of conventional soda acid or foam type having a closure member 2 at its upper end which may be removed and replaced for recharging the extinguisher with chemicals. The closure member 2 has threaded engagement with the upper end of the extinguisher and is provided with a hand wheel or rim 3 for effecting its rotation for removal and replacement services. The rim 3 is spaced from the closure member 2 and is connected therewith by a plurality of rim spokes 4 usually four in number. A depending flange 5 is provided at the base of the extinguisher as a support therefor.

To hold the extinguisher against rotation during removal of its closure member, there is provided a plat-. form 6 having a pair of spaced clamping members or The clamping brake shoes 7 and 8 mounted thereon. members 7 and 8 respectively. have an arcuate segmental shape providing outwardly facing curved clamping surfaces for clamping engagement with the inner surface of the extinguisher fiangeS.

The clamping element 7 in operation is stationary but is adjustably mounted on the base 6 for lengthwise movement with respect thereto by bolts 9 which extend through spaced parallel slots 10 and bolts 11 secured to a depending member 12, as best shown in Fig. 4, which extends through a slot 13 so that its position may be adjusted lengthwise of the platform 6. The depending member 12 has threaded engagement with one end of a rod 14 which has a journal support 16 for its other end. The rod 14 projects beyond the end of the platform and is provided with a knurled wheel 17 by which it may be rotated to adjust the position of the member 12 and thereby the position of the clamping element 7 longitudinally of the platform 6.

The clamping member or brake shoe 8 is secured to a movable support 19 projecting upwardly from a treadle lever 20. The treadle lever 20 is secured to the platform 6 by a horizontal pivot 21 extending transversely of the platform 6, the platform 6 having a depressed channel seen in Fig. 3 in which the lever 20 is received and the sides of which form a support for the pivot 21. A spring 22 biases the lever 20 and the clamping member 8 upwardly to the position illustrated in Fig. 4. When a downward force is applied to the treadle 20, the clamp ing member 8 is pivoted from the position in a clockwise direction to its operative clamping position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

A latch 24 is provided for locking the treadle lever 20 in its lowered position. As best shown in Fig. 5, the latch 24 is supported on the platform 6 by a pivot pin 25 extending lengthwise of the platform. A spring 27 biases the movement of the latch 24 in a counterclockwise direction to its operative locking position. When the treadle 20 is moved downwardly to its lowered position, it engages the curved surface 28 and cams the latch 24 out of the path of movement of the treadle 20 against the action of the biasing spring 27. Upon movement of the treadle 20 into its final position, the spring 27 becomes effective to move the latch 24 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. to its latching position.

The end of the treadle 20 has a pivoted latch releasing member 30 connected thereto by a pivot 31. When it is desired to release the treadle 20 for movement by its biasing spring 22, the lever 30 is pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to move the latch 24 out of latching engagement with the treadle 20 to thereby release the treadle for upward movement by the spring 22 and to move the clamping member 8 out of clamping engagement with the extinguisher 5.

The clamping member 8 is shown as having a frictional brake lining 33 which forms the surface engaged with the internal surface of the flange 5. While the clamping member 9 is not shown as having a fraction brake lining on its clamping surface, it will be understood that a frictional lining may be provided on this surface if so desired.

The supporting platform 6 and its operating parts are relatively light in weight and may be readily carried by an operator to the various locations in buildings to which the fire extinguishers to be serviced are provided. To facilitate carrying the extinguisher from one position to another, the platform 6 is provided with a handle 34.

The tool for rotating the hand wheel 3 and closure member 2 is indicated as a whole by the numeral 35, and comprises a bar 36 having a depressed and bifurcated end 37 providing a notch 38 in which one of the hand wheel spokes 4 is receivable. Inwardly of the depressed end 37, the bar 36 is provided with an operating member 39 which has a recess 40 of semi-circular shape for sliding engagement with the upper surface of the hand wheel 3. The operating member 39 has a downwardly projecting part 41 which extends annularly outwardly with respect to the inner edge of the recess 46 so that it will engage with one of the spokes 4 as shown in Fig. 1 when it is slid along the upper surface of the hand wheel 3. The operating member 39 is secured to the bar 36 by a bolt and washer assembly 42 the bolt of which extends through a slot 43 in the bar 36 by which the position of the operating member 39 may be adjusted lengthwise of the bar 36. This tool 33 is described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 364,106, filed June 25, 1953, and now Patent No. 2,758,495.

in operation, an extinguisher 1 is placed in the platform 6 as shown in Fig. 1 with the clamping elements 7 and 8 positioned inwardly of the extinguisher flange 5. The operator then steps on the treadle 20 to move the brake shoe or clamping element 8 into clamping engagement with the inner surface of the flange 5. The relatively stationary shoe 7, is, of course, adjusted according to the size of the container to a position in which both shoes will be in tight clamping engagement when the treadle 20 is depressed to its lower position. When the treadle 20 moves to its lowermost position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the latch 24 automatically engages to prevent its movement out of clamping position. The tool 35 is then applied to the hand wheel 3 as shown in Fig. 1 and this is accomplished by positioning the bifurcated end 37 about one of the spokes 4 below the surface of the hand wheel 3. The operating member 39 is then placed in engagement with the upper surface of the hand wheel 3 received in the recess 40 as illustrated and the tool is then rotated about the spoke engaged by the bifurcated end 37 as a fulcrum to move the depending part 41 into engagement with a spoke 4 at the other side of the hand wheel. The operator then applies a holding force with one hand to the bar 36 to maintain the depending part 41 tightly engaged with the spoke 4 while pivoting the handle 44 rapidly back and forth between the positions shown in Fig. 8 with his other hand. Rapid pivotal movement of the handle 44 in this manner is effective to apply sharp blows successively to the end 49 on the handle 46 for imparting a turning movement to the hand wheel 3 and the closure member 2. The application of a number of sharply applied blows in this manner to the bar 36 has been found effective to open closures 2 on fire extinguishers regardless of how tightly they may have been frozen by corrosion, and this is accomplished without damage to the hand wheel 3 or the spokes 4. The same operation is effective in tightening the closure 2 on an extinguisher, it being only necessary to position the operating member 39 so that the depending lug 41 is positioned on an opposite side of the spoke 4.

During the application of rapidly applied forces to the hand wheel by the tool 35, the frictional engagement of the platform 6 with the floor on which it is supported by reason of its weight and the weight of the extinguisher thereon will usually be found effective to prevent turning movement of the platform on its floor support. However, if the floor has a relatively low coefficient of friction such as is encountered with marble flooring, the operator may stand on the platform 6 thereby obtaining the benefit of his weight for preventing turning movement of the platform. In such case the spaces 6a and 6b at either side of the container provide space on which the operator my stand.

The present application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 364,106, filed June 25, 1953, and now Patent No. 2,758,495.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this is merely by way of illustration, and that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the contemplation of the invention and under the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. An apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers of the type including a vertically arranged cylindrical container having an annular supporting flange at its base, said apparatus comprising a platform furnishing a support for said flange, a pair of spaced and diametrically opposed clamping members on said platform said clamping members being of arcuate shape and having outwardly facing clamping surfaces for clamping engagement with the internal surface of said flange, at least one of said clamping members being mounted for clamping movement relative to said platform and away from the other of said members, and actuating means for moving said one clamping member into clamping engagement with said flange to thereby render said other clamping member effective to exert a clamping force against said flange.

2. An apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers of the type including a vertically arranged cylindrical container having an annular supporting flange at its base said apparatus comprising a platform furnishing a support for said flange, a pair of spaced and diametrically opposed clamping members on said platform said clamping members being of arcuate shape and having outwardly facing clamping surfaces for clamping engagement with the internal surface of said flange, one of said clamping members being normally stationary relative to said platform and having an adjustable support thereon by which its position may be adjusted with respect thereto, the other of said clamping members being mounted for clamping movement relative to said platform and away from said stationary member, and actuating means for moving said movable member into clamping engagement with said flange to thereby render said stationary member effective to exert a clamping force against said flange.

3. An apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers of the type including a vertically arranged cylindrical container having an annular supporting flange at its base, said apparatus comprising a platform furnishing a support for said flange, a pair of spaced and diametrically opposed clamping members on said platform said clamping members being of arcuate shape and having outwardly facing clamping surfaces for clamping engagement with the internal surface of said flange, one of said clamping members being normally stationary relative to said platform and having an adjustable support thereon by which its position may be adjusted with respect thereto, a pivot connecting the other of said members to said platform for pivotal movement from an inoperative positionto a clamping position in clamping engagement with said flange, and a foot-operated treadle for actuating said pivotally movable clamping member to its clamping position.

4. An apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers of the type including a vertically arranged cylindrical container having an annular supporting flange at its base, said apparatus comprising a platform furnishing a support for said flange, a pair of spaced and diametrically opposed clamping members on said platform said clamping members being of arcuate shape and having outwardly facing clamping surfaces for clamping engagement with the internal surface of said flange, one of said clamping members having a stationary support on said platform, a pivot connecting the other of said members to said platform for pivotal movement to and from a position in operative clamping engagement with said flange, and a foot-operated treadle connected with said movable clamping member for actuating it to its said operative clamping position.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 characterized by the provision of a latch automatically engageable with said treadle upon movement of said movable clamping member to its clamping position for maintaining it in clamping position.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 characterized by the provision of a lever pivotally connected to said treadle and operable upon manual movement thereof to disengage said latch with respect to said treadle.

7. An apparatus for servicing fire extinguishers of the type including a vertically arranged cylindrical container having an annular supporting flange at its base, said apparatus comprising a platform furnishing a support for said flange, a pair of spaced and diametrically opposed clamping members on said platform said clamping members being of arcuate shape and having outwardly facing clamping surfaces for clamping engagement with the internal surface of said flange, one of said clamping members having a stationary support on said platform, a pivot connecting the other of said members to said platform for pivotal movement to and from a position in operative clamping engagement with said flange, a foot-operated treadle connected with said movable clamping member for actuating it to its said operative clamping position, and a spring biasing said movable clamping member for movement away from its clamping position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,087,827 Westlund July 20, 1937 2,340,330 Kipper Feb. 1, 1944 2,566,598 Castner Sept. 4, 1951 

